Let’s spare a thought

IT’S a great year this year is – full of challenges and great opportunities for doing a lot of things, good things.

For example, there are those in business who have already worked out what their profit margin would be this year.

To achieve their set target, they will give every excuse in the world to justify why they marked up their prices by so much.

In government it is the same.

Those who only live on taxpayers’ handouts (sorry, that’s just another description for the various grants politicians receive on a regular basis throughout the year as constituency grants).

Political supporters would have already made up their minds what they would ask of their representative in Parliament this year.

“We voted for you,” they would say. They said the same thing last year and it worked – for them.

Why? They followed up their requests with action, permanently camped out for weeks on ends at their MPs’ residences until they received whatever it was they were after.

So they got what they wanted last year. This year the same cycle is certain to repeat itself. And on, and on and on. It never stops.

Let me just pause. Let’s look at individuals who worked behind the scene – the so-called unsung heroes – to help others, mostly strangers from faraway land.

People like Frank Short (former police commissioner), Jeanette Searle of New Zealand’s charitable organisation, Take My Hands, come to mind.

I know there are many, many more. They work untirelessly to help people they may never see.

And of course organisations that help them complete their mission impossible – Solomon Forest Association (SFA) for example is one.

One thing seems to have brought them together – the value and indeed the joy of helping others through free giving without expecting anything back.

In giving up their time and using their own money to make things happen, these individuals never expect anything back, none at all.

No wonder they get so frustrated when recipient organizations do not act in tandem in terms of timing and gratitude.

We forget that these individuals receive no form of payment whatsoever for doing what they are doing to help.

They are merely doing it for the joy of helping others. Finito

May we have their good hearted spirit this year to help those less able to help themselves. And you cannot tell me we don’t have the “less able” people amongst us. They are now flooding urban centres such as Honiara.

You see them every day – on our side streets – day and night. The harvest is truly ready but the labourers are few.

There is no doubt in my mind that there will be challenges ahead this year – on individual fronts, provincial and national fronts.

On the same note, it is my firm belief these challenges are underlined by great opportunities.

Opportunities are there for the taking. So as this year unfolds and in the rush to compete and outdo our rivals here and there, let’s pause to think about the plight of others.

Let’s put ourselves in their shoes. How would we feel?

At the same time it is a small asking to spare a thought for those beyond our shores who work untirelessly in order to help our people here. They spend their time, money and effort to help, how can we thank them?

I’ve been told reliably that a number of organizations had pulled out of helping because the churches they channelled their gifted items through had never mentioned a word of thanks to them.

Spare a thought this year, would you?

Do what you can do to help. Whatever you do, thank them for and on behalf of our less fortunate.